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A26806
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Sermons upon Psalm CXXX, ver. 4 but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be feared / by William Bates.
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Bates, William, 1625-1699.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing B1124; ESTC R25865
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50,575
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129
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be saved by the Death of Christ upon the Terms of the Gospel This Constitution is grounded upon the eternal Articles between the Father and the Son in the Covenant of Redemption Our Saviour declares that God gave his Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal Life Notwithstanding the full Satisfaction made for our Sins yet without our Consent i. e. an applicative Faith no Benefit could accrue to us He dwells in our Hearts by Faith and by that vital Band of our Union we have Communion with him in his Death and as entire an Interest in all the blessed Benefits purchased by it as if whatsoever he did and suffered had been for us alone He is a Propitiation by Faith in his Blood Of this full Consent of the Sinner there is an excellent Example in the Apostle He expresses it with the greatest Ardency of Affection I count all things but Dung that I may win Christ and be found in him not having mine own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ. Like as a poor insolvent Debtor ready to be cast into a perpetual Prison longs for a Surety rich and liberal to make Paiment for him Thus St. Paul desir'd to be found in Christ as an all-sufficient Surety that he might obtain a Freedom from the Charge of the Law The Establishment of the Gospel that Faith be the Condition of our Pardon so that none can be justified without it is from pure Grace The Apostle assigns this Reason why all Works are excluded those performed in the State of Nature or by a Principle of Grace from being the procuring Cause of our Salvation that it is to prevent Vain-glory in Men that would result from it You are saved by Grace through Faith and that not of your selves it is the Gift of God The Pardon of Sin is a principal Part of our Salvation He positively declares that Justification is therefore of Faith that it might be by Grace If Justification were to be obtain'd by a Condition of impossible Performance it were no Favour to offer that blessed Benefit to us but it being assur'd to a Believer that humbly and thankfully accepts of it the Grace of God is exceedingly glorified To make this more clear Faith may be considered as a productive Grace or a receptive As a productive it purifies the Heart works by Love and in this Consideration we are not justified by it Faith hath no Efficiency in our Justification 't is the sole Act of God But Faith as a receptive Grace that embraces Christ with his precious Merits offer'd to us in the Promise entitles us to Pardon And in this way Divine Grace is exalted for he that entirely relies upon the Righteousness of Christ absolutely renounces his own Righteousness and ascribes in solidum the obtaining of his Pardon to the Clemency and Favour of God for the sake of the Mediator 3. That God is ready to forgive is fully proved by many gracious Declarations in his Word the infallible Expression of his Will We are commanded to seek his Face for ever his Favour and Love for the Countenance is the Christal wherein the Affections appear Now all the Commands of God assure us of his approving and Acceptance of our Obedience to them it follows therefore that 't is very pleasing to him that we pray for the Pardon of our Sins and that he will dispense it if we pray in a due manner When he forbad the Prophet to pray for Israel it was an Argument of decreed Ruine against them Pray not for this People for I will not hear thee To encourage our Hope God is pleased to direct us how to address our Requests for his Mercy He directs Israel that had fallen by Iniquity to take Words and turn to the Lord and say unto him Take away all Iniquity and receive us graciously so will we render the Praise of our Lips To this is added a solemn renouncing of those Sins that provoked him to Anger His gracious Answer follows I will heal their Backslidings I will love them freely If a Prince draws a Petition for an humble Suppliant to himself 't is a strong Indication that he will grant it God joins Intreaties to his Commands to induce Men to accept this Mercy The Apostle declares Now then we are Embassadors for Christ as tho God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God Astonishing Goodness how condescending how compassionate The Provocation began on Man's part the Reconciliation is first on God's That the King of Heaven whose Indignation was incens'd by our Rebellions and might justly send Executioners to destroy us should send Embassadors to offer Peace and beseech us to be reconciled to him as if it were his Interest and not ours is a Mercy above what we could ask or think With Commands and Intreaties he mixes Promises of Pardon to encourage us to come to the Throne of Grace Whoever confesses and forsakes his Sins shall find Mercy This Promise is ratified by the strongest Assurance If we confess our Sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Vnrighteousness The Pardon of a repenting Sinner is the Effect of most free Mercy but 't is dispensed to the Honour of God's Faithfulness and Justice who is pleased to engage himself by his Promise to do it And tho the Word of God be as sacred and certain as his Oath for 't is impossible for him to change his Will or to deceive us in the one as well as the other yet to overcome the Fears to allay the Sorrows and satisfy the Desires of repenting Sinners he was pleased to annex his Oath to the Promise which is the most infallible Character and Note that the Blessing promised is unchangeable He adds Threatnings to his Invitations that Fear which is an active and strong Passion may constrain us to seek for his Mercy Our Saviour said to the Jews who did blind and harden themselves in their Infidelity If ye believe not that I am he the promised Messiah and come to me to obtain Life ye shall die in your Sins The Threatning implies a State final and fearful beyond all Expression for they who die in their Sins shall die for them to Eternity Hell is the sad Mansion of lost Souls fill'd with extreme Wrath and extreme Despair and where Despair is without Remedy Sorrow is without Mitigation for ever From hence we may be convinc'd how willing God is to pardon and save us in that knowing how we are intangled with pleasant Sins he reveals to us what will be the eternal Consequence of Sins unrepented and unforgiven a Punishment above all the Evils that are felt or fear'd here and above all the Patience and Strength of Sinners to endure If Men yield themselves to the Call of his Word without and of his Spirit within
Guilt will come to Christ to find Rest and only those our Saviour invites and promises graciously to receive A tender and timorous Conscience does often impute the Guilt of Sin when 't is abolish'd a seared Conscience does not impute it when it abounds God has revealed his Mercy in so full a manner as to answer all the Allegations of a repenting Sinner against himself He objects his Unworthiness of Pardon but this cannot exclude him from it for the Grace of God springs from within and has no original Cause without it self 'T is like celestial Fire that feeds it self God declares his sovereign Pleasure in the Exercise of Mercy I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew Mercy to whom I will shew Mercy If Mercy were bestowed only upon the worthy none could be saved for all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God The humble Penitent urges against himself that he has been a singular and extraordinary Offender that none is like him in sinning but we are assured none is like God in pardoning The Number of our Sins is terrifying This so affected the Psalmist that he fainted with desponding Fear My Sins are like the Hairs upon my Head therefore my Heart fails me But the Multitude of God's Mercies incomparably exceed our numerous Sins They are renewed every Moment of our Lives Stupendous Infinity they are over all his Works and over all his Attributes God is Love and Love covers a Multitude of Sins The killing Aggravations of our Sins strike us through but there is not so much Evil in Sin as there is Goodness in God Our finite Acts cannot preponderate his unlimited Essence He declares I am God and not Man therefore ye are not consumed We hardly forgive a few Pence he forgives ten thousand Talents He is God infinite in Mercy and as liberal as infinite Delight in Sin is an aggravating Circumstance but God delights in Mercy Continuance in Sin inflames the Guilt but his Mercy extends to Eternity I shall add for the Support of returning Penitents some Examples of God's forgiving great Sinners recorded in Scripture He charges the People of Israel Thou hast made me serve with thy Sins and wearied me with thine Iniquities It might be expected that the next Words should have been I will revenge your dishonouring of me according to the Glory of my Majesty and the Extent of my Power but he promises Pardon I even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions for my Name sake and will not remember thy Sins By the Comparison of their Sins he illustrates the Glory of his Mercy Lot guilty of Incest with his Daughters David of Murder and Adultery Manasseh a Sorcerer and Idolater that burnt his Children alive in Sacrifice to the Devil and fill'd Jerusalem with innocent Blood Mary Magdalen out of whom seven Devils were cast Peter who was so faint-hearted and false-hearted that with Execrations he denied his Master Paul that was a bloody Persecutor are the Instances of the astonishing Omnipotent Mercy of God who can as easily pardon the greatest Sins as the least and makes no Difference when our Repentance is sincere and our Faith unfeigned tho according to the degrees of their Guilt Conscience should be affected How many pardon'd Sinners Miracles of the Divine Mercy are in Heaven happy in the Love of God and glorious in Holiness who were as deeply guilty and polluted as any that now mournfully seek the Favour of God These are Examples of Grace so excellent and so divine to encourage us in our Addresses for Pardon The Apostle Paul tells us That for this Cause he obtained Mercy that in me Jesus Christ might shew all Long-suffering for a Pattern to them who shall hereafter believe on him to everlasting Life There is the same Motive in God he forgives Sins for his Name sake The Treasures of his Mercy are not wasted by communicating There is the same Merit in Christ his precious Blood shed upon the Cross is pleaded in Heaven He ever lives to make Intercession for us and if we obtain the same precious Faith we shall have the same Acceptance In short let those who are overwhelmed with Fear consider 't is not only our Privilege but Duty to trust in the Divine Mercy We are commanded to believe in the Mediator Despair is more dishonourable to God than Presumption in that 't is a Sin directly against a superiour Attribute the Exercise of which is his Delight and dearest Glory 3 dly Let us be excited to seek the pardoning Mercy of God with Humility with Fear and all possible Diligence lest we should not obtain it Our Hearts should be set upon this with the most intense Zeal for 't is our Life Every impenitent Sinner is under the condemning Sentence of the Law and there is but a step between him and Death the only Hope is that 't is not yet ratified by the Judg nor inflicted but 't is reversible by suing out a Pardon in the superiour Court of the Gospel Now 't is astonishing that when the Danger is so great and present for 't is as morally impossible to be sure of time to come as to recal time past that Men should be so unconcerned and secure and neglect the main Work for which they are spared by the admirable Patience of God Time is certainly short and uncertainly continued and when the Oil that feeds the Lamp of Life is spent the next State is the Blackness of Darkness for ever to all unpardoned Sinners Now the Scepter of Grace is extended to us we are within the Call of pardoning Mercy God waits to be gracious but there is a sad Assurance if we do not sue out our Pardon in the present Life the time of our Reprieve Death is immediately attended with eternal Judgment the Belief of which makes the Prince of Darkness with the most stubborn Spirits of Hell to tremble yet Men continue in the Guilt of their unrepented Sins without Fear and wretchedly deceive themselves with a vain Presumption that the Door of Mercy will be open when they leave the World or bear up themselves by the numberless Multitude of stupid Sinners and make a resolute Reckoning they shall do as well as the most They are studious and contriving active and ardent about the Affairs of this low Life and careless of being reconcil'd to God a Matter of the highest Concernment and eternal Consequence Prodigious Folly never enough lamented though Vengeance from above is ready to fall upon them and Hell below with its dark Horrors is open to swallow them up yet they are stupid and fearless The Remembrance of this will rack and torment them for ever for when extreme Folly is the Cause of extreme Misery the Sufferer is the most cruel Enemy to himself Let us therefore seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near Now God offers his Pardon to the greatest